Coven Overview
Explore the operation of the Coven. We amend as necessary. Coven of the Oven Overview A baking club for sassy women, Coven of the Oven is an all-female group connected by friendship and food. We choose baking Challenges, bake something for the Challenge and mail it a member of the Coven. Or maybe we mail a recipe and they bake it. Either way, we cook for each other, we encourage each other and, although some of us are hundreds of miles apart, we remain connected. Coven Operations Every 6-8 weeks, we choose a Challenge. I’ll try to send the Challenge announcement three weeks before the exchange, then give you a week to decide if you are in/out. From there, I’ll send the mailing list and you’ll have two weeks to plan your baking. As for the baking, you interpret the Challenge. Maybe you want to personalize the recipe to the recipient’s tastes. Bake with unfamiliar ingredients. Make your Grandma’s specialty. The sky’s the limit! Baking Challenges The Challenges are generated by the group. I may tweak them, but overall, we make decisions as a group. Here are some suggestions from the group: * Low-Fat/Low-Sugar - Either make a recipe labeled low-fat or try using substitutes like apple sauce, yogurt, agave, etc. * Animal Shaped - I don’t think this requires explanation. Thank you, Allie. * Family Recipes - Share a dish from your family’s secret vault. (savory or sweet) * Hometown Dishes - Make a recipe that originated from, reminds you of, people associate it with, your hometown or current town. (savory or sweet) * The best chocolate chip cookie challenge * Seasonal showcase - Show off the best of your local seasonal ingredients Whenever you think of a good one, add it to the Baking Challenges comment section. How does one mail baked goods? First, you need to use two- or three-day shipping. It’s a small expense, but worth it. Don’t let your hard work go stale in the mail. Next, I’d suggest double wrapping. For example, put cookies in a ziplock bag then put the bag in a cheap ziplock container. The idea is to keep it fresh and unbroken. Third, keep the box packed. In the warm months, that might mean everyone invests in those shipping cold packs and we reuse them for each baking exchange. Either way, fill empty space in the box with newspapers, packing peanuts, real popcorn (cheap and reliable), etc. because the more those cookies shift, the more your dessert becomes crumbs. Last, you MUST include a copy of the recipe and a note/card. Print it out, write it on a cute recipe card, cross-stitch it into a pillow, whatever. Challenge Follow-up's To encourage sharing, learning from our adventures and getting to know each, in general, we follow-up Challenges with a social activity. This may be a Google Hangout, Wiki debrief, Facebook photo share, email exchange, etc. Whatever we choose, it will occur within a few days of our mailing. Your Involvement This is a casual group. We do this to stay connected as friends and women. The purpose isn't to win a baking competition. It's to do something nice for a friend while also expanding our culinary repertoire. Members will tell you that they spend more time thinking about what their recipient would enjoy than actually making the food because, in the end, we're all just mailing and receiving treats and greetings! Having said that, we do have a participation rule. You are welcome to opt out of a Challenge (we all have lives that get busy), but three opt-outs in a row means this isn't the group for you. We do Challenges every couple of months - if you can't participate over a 6 month stretch then you're not really a member of the group. No hard feelings, just keeping it real.